Surrounded by Enemies I

This 1914 work is a pen drawing on paper, and the title, which translates as Surrounded by Enemies, is a direct appropriation of a war propaganda slogan attributed to Kaiser Wilhelm at the onset of World War I.  When it became apparent that Germany was losing the war, von Stuck tried to retitle it Siegfried, but that didn't stick.  Von Stuck was also a talented sculptor, and he did a statuette version of this piece which follows in today's set.  We might wish he did more sculptures.